Testing can get complicated when each project is using a completely different toolset, language, and reporting status, with different measurements and formats. Testing is a reaction to context and what we encounter, so how we test cannot be standardized. What we can standardize is the stuff that surrounds the testing.

Technology allows amazing innovations to optimize business and deliver new and better services, but if you don’t carefully consider your entire user community, innovations may cost you business. When designing for stakeholders, don't stop at the obvious cases—or else you may find that you forgot an important customer.

There's a simple rule for the minimum values testers should explore: “none, one, some”—or, how the software behaves if you send it nothing, one thing, or some set greater than one. It's not comprehensive, but it gives a good feel for how the feature works at the moment. Developers can also use this in unit testing.